Set Realistic Expectations For Child in Sports

Questions About Travel Programs, Year Round Competition, Early Specialization

Sports
have been part of my life for 50 years as a player, coach or player personnel consultant
to universities and professional teams in the NFL, MLB and NBA. Sports have changed dramatically during this
time. While we reminisce about great
players from the past, we are in a new era.
Every aspect of sports is evolving quickly. For instance, the coverage of sporting events
has been greatly enhanced by the digital age.
Science has contributed to gains in sports nutrition, training, sports
medicine and injury prevention. Equipment
has also undergone many improvements and redesigns. The list of changes goes on and on.

Part of
the reason we're in a new era is that athletes today can begin organized sports
participation much earlier than in the past.
There is greater access for youngsters to pursue the sport of their
choosing. It wasn't all that long ago
that girls and women had no opportunities to participate in sports because Title
IX did not exist. Today, countless programs
and leagues exist, no matter what sex, race or age. There's also been an explosion of ball fields
and facilities devoted to sports.

Setting Age-Appropriate Expectations

To start
early, one needs to find a sport that is age appropriate. It doesn't make much sense to ask a six year old
to hit a fastball. It doesn't make much
sense to ask this same six year old to throw a basketball through a 10 ft. high
hoop. At such a young age, athletes need
to be taught the basic fundamentals related to their sport. Obviously, this includes running, throwing
and catching, and other activities that involve improving balance and engaging large
muscle groups.

At young
ages, athletes have physical and mental limitations. One example of a mental limitation is
illustrated in experiments conducted by child psychologists. If you lay out one row of five pennies and
ask a preschooler or even some children 5 or 6 years of age to count the pennies they will say that there are
five. Then you lay out a second row of
five pennies that are spread out more.
Then ask the child to count this row.
Again, they will answer with the number five. Then ask which row has more pennies. The child answers that the second, more
spread out row has more. This is called
egocentric thinking.

One
application to sports is that the egocentric thinking child has trouble with
pursuit. When they must run to the right
spot to intercept a moving target, like a rolling soccer ball, they cannot lead
the ball and they end up instead trying to follow it in a hooked-line pattern
instead of a straight line. If you watch
any soccer game involving six year olds you will quickly notice this phenomenon
with the players bunching up into a tight cluster around the ball ("beehive
soccer").

Recreational versus Travel

Another
consideration for parents and their young players is whether to enroll in a
recreational league or if it would be better to go for one of the premier or "competitive"
leagues. The reason this is important is
that the developing athlete may not end up getting valuable playing time if the
coach is intent on winning and playing the best players. The player may actually develop more quickly
playing on a team with less talented players because the coach rotates everyone
into the game and possibly even play them at different positions. I know many parents who overlook this
consideration because they are ego involved.
They would rather their son or daughter play on a premier team because
it gratifies the parent's ego. I have
also seen cases where the child was miserable because they had to ride the
bench.

Related
to the above consideration is the issue of year round competition. Many teams, especially once you get to the
competitive or premier level of any age group, engage in league play and
tournaments throughout the entire year.
It's not uncommon for parents to travel great distances to play in
tournaments.

Drawbacks of Year-Round Play

There are
problems with year round competition.
While it may seem logical that playing a sport throughout the year would
help the child develop, it is clear that this does not always happen. For one thing, there is some positive
transfer from sport to sport. Playing
some golf can help a hockey player on the ice.
There's a carryover of eye-hand coordination. One study tracked a group of athletes who
played soccer in junior high and then switched to football, comparing them to a
group of peers who played just football.
Players who switched ended up being better performers than those who
just played football.

Year round
competition can increase stress and the risk of overuse injuries. It can also force the player to specialize in
one sport at a very early age. All you
have to do is count the dwindling number of three-sport-lettered athletes in
high schools.

Finally,
athletes, parents and coaches often overlook the psychological development of
their athletes. Very little is done to
condition youngsters to handle the psychological demands of competition. Our firm is one of the few that offers
athletes (12 and older) the opportunity to take an on-line psychological
assessment and obtain feedback and suggestions for improvement and tips for
parents. A companion report can also be
generated for the athlete's coach. This
helps improve coach-player relationships and gives the coach an edge when
coaching the player.

In conclusion, starting early can be a healthy and
positive experience. But doing so can
also be a perilous path if certain factors are not taken into
consideration. The sport should be age
appropriate. The young athlete should be
given playing time during games. Parents
should carefully consider whether year-round competition and early
specialization are appropriate. Athletes
need to be developed, not just physically, but also psychologically.

Robert Troutwine, Ph.D. is the founder of
Troutwine & Associates, Inc., a firm best known for its consulting work
with numerous sports teams and programs, including teams in the National
Football League and Major League Baseball as well as major college programs.
To find out more about Dr. Troutwine and his work visit www.troutwine.com or his
sport specific site at www.tapsport.com.